PLAYER’S CORNER

PRESENTED BY

By Ted Johnson

WE HAVE MOVED past the days when a driver we saw during a PGA TOUR broadcast could, with a different shaft and an adjustment on the hosel, fit you and I. Today, club manufacturers are learning more through data gathered not only from golf’s elite, but high-handicap amateurs and all player types in between. The result is more options to fit players, and thus a marketplace flooded with high quality choices.

The products listed in this year’s Gear Guide open the door to a better golf experience. Amazing products that, with some time spent on a launch monitor, can be fitted to maximize performance for your swing and most common playing conditions.

Don’t be intimidated by Callaway offering two wedge designs—with a combined 31 options and six sole grinds. Irons now have multi-material heads and interior weighting that rival the technology we’ve come to associate with drivers. The same goes for fairway woods and hybrids. The one club we all use most—the putter can, in some models, have any head, head weight and neck you can imagine. It’s all aimed at getting the right clubs for you.

So, venture in with great curiosity. The goal here is to provide some motivation to take the time and learn about new designs that could, through a fitting session, reveal what club or clubs matches your swing and, in turn, increase your knowledge of your game. The result will be more joy, satisfaction and smiles at the end of the round.

Why You’ll Love it: Titanium alloy ATI 425 in clubface Why You Should Buy It: Light, flexible, durable and robust—lots of pop in new hot face Insider’s Insight: Not as unforgiving as previous Titleist clubs

Why You’ll Love it: Off-center mis-hits still fly Why You Should Buy It: XB model has more rear weight, boosting sweet spot & stability Insider’s Insight: Radspeed suited for better players

Why You’ll Love it: Improved “Jailbreak” tech in face Why You Should Buy It: Super stable crown and sole allow face flex for added distance Insider’s Insight: Take your time to dial it in

Why You’ll Love it: Unique titanium alloys in head, face Why You Should Buy It: Aluminum particles in carbon fiber head creates overall rigidity Insider’s Insight: Personalized weighting makes this powerful & forgiving

Why You’ll Love it: Lots of high-tech design for the money Why You Should Buy It: Various face thicknesses throughout face release more energy Insider’s Insight: Bigger sweet spot = stability, distance

Why You’ll Love it: More stable than earlier models Why You Should Buy It: Titanium in face; carbon fiber crown & sole = ample sweet spot Insider’s Insight: SIM2 Max for mid-launch; MX-D fights slices

Why You’ll Love it: Larger head = fairway forgiveness Why You Should Buy It: Allows more backweighting for stable face, high ball flight Insider’s Insight: Look how many are in pro players’ bags

Why You’ll Love it: Market best for off-center hits Why You Should Buy It: Hybrid is backweighted, & lower lofts have different face variances Insider’s Insight: You won’t hook the shorter clubs

Why You’ll Love it: Likeable shape creates confidence Why You Should Buy It: Aside from the driver-like flex in face, you’ll love the sole Insider’s Insight: Clean hits from fairway, rough & elsewhere

Why You’ll Love it: Thinner face for more energy Why You Should Buy It: Unique face design supports thin sweet spot for more rebound Insider’s Insight: You want more distance? Look here

Why You’ll Love it: Perennial on this list for a reason Why You Should Buy It: Forgiving off fairway & tee thanks to hot wraparound cup face Insider’s Insight: Again, Tour Edge gives more bang for your money

Why You’ll Love it: Contrarian face design = wow factor Why You Should Buy It: Thicker face in middle of sweet spot supported by thinner tenets Insider’s Insight: Middle hits will scream, decent forgiveness

Why You’ll Love it: Skunkworks models defy tradition Why You Should Buy It: Hollow-cavity heads & tungsten & exotic “Super Metal” face inserts Insider’s Insight: Want to impress your club? These will turn heads

Why You’ll Love it: High-tech design with Mizuno look Why You Should Buy It: Face is 16-percent thinner means more distance & forgiveness Insider’s Insight: Best club for aspiring midhandicappers

Why You’ll Love it: Easy-to-hit highperformance club Why You Should Buy It: Unique weighting in each clubhead = perfect but different to you Insider’s Insight: Comes in three swingweights, so get fitted

Why You’ll Love it: Mind-blowing finish & performance Why You Should Buy It: Multi-Injection Molding in face; tungsten weight in toe = soft but solid Insider’s Insight: Precision & forgiveness makes for winning cavity-back set

Why You’ll Love it: Luxury in gameimprovement irons Why You Should Buy It: Hollow body filled with polymer decreases in short irons Insider’s Insight: Lofts are 3 degrees stronger, so adjust

Why You’ll Love it: Get-started irons for better contact Why You Should Buy It: Wide soles help reduce “chunks” so frustrating to newcomers Insider’s Insight: Hybrid-like heads induce confidence & enjoyment

What if there was a way for you to immediately sink more putts? A way that allowed you to hit the “sweet spot” of the putter every time… Doubling and even tripling your ability to putt? Well, that’s the exactly what our club designers have done using the “Gear Effect”.

SWEET SPOT MILLING

No Skidding or Bouncing... When you hit the center of the face on THE PYRAMID PUTTER, the horizontal When you hit the center of the face on THE PYRAMID PUTTER, the horizontal grooves give the ball top spin. This means your ball will not skid or bounce off line... and this keeps it tracking grooves give the ball top spin. This means your ball will not skid or bounce off line... and this keeps it tracking toward the hole. This also helps with speed control because a consistent roll gives you a consistent speed. toward the hole. This also helps with speed control because a consistent roll gives you a consistent speed. Hit a putt with a ‘typical’ putter and you will usually push the putt. But the special Hit the ball on the heel of the traditional putter and you will pull the putt. However,

TOE MILLING

No More Pushed Putt s... Hit a putt with a ‘typical’ putter and you will usually push the putt. But the special toe milling on THE PYRAMID PUTTER keeps the ball tracking on the intended line.

HEEL MILLING

No More Pulled Putt s... Hit the ball on the heel of the traditional putter and you will pull the putt. However, the milling on THE PYRAMID PUTTER keeps putts hit toward the heel moving straight.

Why You’ll Love it: Makes all wedge shots easier Why You Should Buy It: Longer hosel, tungsten in toe means face squares at impact Insider’s Insight: Most popular wedge line on PGA TOUR

Why You’ll Love it: More bite into the ball for control Why You Should Buy It: Unique, wavering groove design & sharper edges = short-shot spin Insider’s Insight: Another way club designers get max performance

Why You’ll Love it: Micro grooves and regular grooves Why You Should Buy It: Feel is so notable, but grooved-up face channels away moisture Insider’s Insight: You’ll notice better shots out of rough and dew

Why You’ll Love it: Unique groove angles on high lofts Why You Should Buy It: Oblique angle of grooves on 56-degrees adds more edge contact Insider’s Insight: Sharper grooves + more edges = lots & lots of spin

Why You’ll Love it: Performance club so easy to hit Why You Should Buy It: Has same sole design as famed Eye2 models + elastomer insert Insider’s Insight: Gives lower launch angles but with higher spin

Why You’ll Love it: Ten titanium weights stabilize head Why You Should Buy It: When fitted, weights & soles to match will bring new short-game faith Insider’s Insight: Expensive, yes; many feel their short-game is worth the price

Why You’ll Love it: Solid, unique feel at impact Why You Should Buy It: Brass in heel pushes center of gravity (Cg) to the middle for stability Insider’s Insight: You won’t find the toe closing fast

Why You’ll Love it: Great performance at good price Why You Should Buy It: Milling thicker in face center, thinner on edges—mis-hits still roll Insider’s Insight: Proof that a club used on every hole doesn’t cost too much

Why You’ll Love it: Long shots fly; approach shots stop Why You Should Buy It: Caveat: Driver swing speeds over 105 mph will get most performance Insider’s Insight: Firmer cover + low spin off driver yields more carry distance

Why You’ll Love it: Improved ingredients, construction Why You Should Buy It: Callaway rejiggered manufacturing processes to produce distance, spin Insider’s Insight: Don't be fooled; this is a highcompression ball

Why You’ll Love it: Alignment marks bring confidence Why You Should Buy It: Insert face induces faster roll, more sound, all with super stability Insider’s Insight: Harkens back to famous 2-Ball putter but better

Why You’ll Love it: Elegant mallet by master designer Why You Should Buy It: Blending milled aluminum and steel with customizable weights Insider’s Insight: Cameron’s reputation grows with eye-catching head

Why You’ll Love it: Better control and distance in wind Why You Should Buy It: Thinner cover but deeper dimples keeps trajectory flatter Insider’s Insight: Bombers like Cameron Chance use this ball

Redesigned with Tour player input Why You Should Buy It: Re-engineered 3-piece Surlyn ball has gone high-tech for distance, spin Insider’s Insight: Close your eyes, the feel is great for non-urethane ball

Why You’ll Love it: Honeycomb face delights fingertips Why You Should Buy It: Wide flange glides through stroke for optimum feedback Insider’s Insight: Rose color finish is classy but also reduces glare

Why You’ll Love it: Sleek mallet with deadly consistency Why You Should Buy It: Forward-facing interior weighting reduces twisting = more accuracy Insider’s Insight: S-groove pattern in face insert reduces sidespin

Why You’ll Love it: 4-piece performance & very thin cover Why You Should Buy It: A neodymium-catalyzed polybutadiene rubber core is a hot, hot engine Insider’s Insight: A different formula to find that distance AND control bond

Why You’ll Love it: Soft feel on putter, wedges Why You Should Buy It: 4-piece construction, cone-shaped dimples give flat, straight tee shots Insider’s Insight: The control around the greens is expected from Mizuno